What My Spine is Teaching Me {about spiritual alignment}

I have been going to the chiropractor for about a month. My spine is misaligned and possibly the cause of my horrible migraines. I knew there were spiritual applications for alignment when it comes to our bodies. But actually experiencing the physical, first hand, makes a spririutal application that much more great. So, hang with me for a minute!

Physical Alignment

This week I was given exercises to do to help keep my spine aligned after leaving the chiropractor’s office. My neck was straight when we started with my treatment plan. Three times a day (at least), I need to bring my head into proper alignment to help the curve in my neck to return.

Can I tell you something? It feels so incredibly awkward. I had no idea how much I stretched my neck forward until now. It feels completely unnatural to bring my head and neck back into alignment. My neck muscles are weak and I can hold the position for about a minute at a time.

The exercises are worth it because I know it’s going to be beneficial to the work the chiropractor is doing. I’m noticing, already, that I am naturally drawing my head back. I also notice so much more, just how bad my dysfunction is.

When my spine is in proper alignment, my entire body will function better. The signals my brain is sending to the rest of my body will no longer have interference. It has been so long since I’ve had proper spinal alignment, I have forgotten what it is like to feel ‘normal’! I got use to my dysfunction and compensated for it in the way I hold my body.

Spiritual Alignment

The other night at dinner, Greg and I were talking and he says “You know, when you roll in crap long enough, you stop smelling it!” Funny, but serious truth in that. When we are not in alignment with the Father, sin creeps in. Our spiritual dysfunctions set in to compensate for our misaligned relationship. Read: we sin.

After a while, if your alignment isn’t fixed, and we keep living in our sin, it starts to not seem so bad any more. We forget what it’s like to live in the goodness of our God. We are like the Israelites who forsake God and turn back the idols of the nations around them. Our new normal is our sin.

Thankfully God is a good Father. He speaks to us through His word, through the Holy Spirit, and very often, through our friends who love us. They speak truth into our lives. Whether or not we listen is another story. When they speak truth to us, if we confess and repent, we get back into alignment.

But you know what? Our spiritual muscles are weak. We have to retrain them. They need to be strengthened through exercise and reps. When one area gets back into alignment, we often see other areas that are misaligned. So one problem at a time, we rely on the Lord to be our “chiropractor,” to adjust us, gently, lovingly, with kindness and grace. How often does He give us “exercises” to keep ourselves in a right relationship with Him? It’s work, our spiritual muscles strain under the awkward alignment. Right?

Practical Application

The same way our physical bodies function optimally with proper alignment, such is true in our spiritual lives. The same way we will hurt ourselves while working out with poor alignment, we hurt ourselves spiritual when we live outside of the righteousness of God. We must train our weaknesses. That might mean having some really good friends, who are allowed to speak the truth in love to you. It means being real and honest with where you are at spiritually and the struggles you are having. It might mean giving things up for a season and spending time in fasting and prayer.

I’ve been on a sugar detox for the past 17 days. Why? Because my sugar addiction was becoming my comfort instead of God. I was aligning myself with the lie that food will make me feel good, that sugar will comfort me, and God can’t.

We need to make our agreements with God and His truths. We need to align ourselves with His word, His ways, and His love.

My challenge for you is this: be bold and ask the Lord to show you where your spiritual life is not aligned with His will for you. Ask Him to be kind and gentle with you. Ask Him to teach you His ways. Have a trustworthy friend keep you accountable. Don’t be afraid of what the Lord may ask of you. Know that on the other side of whatever discipline He calls you into, is greater and more!